Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

BONUS: A Smile That Makes The World Brighter

RAIN HAD BEGUN TO FALL. Tiny droplets falling on the windowpanes, fogging them up, making the world outside look blurry. 

Red and blue lights faded in the darkening sky, in the heavily, steadily falling rain, drowning out the sounds of the sirens. 

Several people in the neighbourhood had been woken up, confused by the sirens, maybe even fearful. What had happened? 

The 11 P.M. news segment seemed to know. Reporters were swarming the home of the reputed lawyer, Takshaka Sarpa, cameramen catching the barest glimpses of the man himself being led away in handcuffs, stony-faced and silent against the onslaught of questions. 

People gasped, as some said, muttered: "I always knew he was shady." 

————

MINI
Hey, it's Rudy. You probably can't reach me now, but if it's important, leave a message after the beep! Bye!

"Pick up," she hissed through gritted teeth, and after the third failed attempt, she threw her phone down on her bed, before following suit, kicking the duvet off onto the floor into a tangled mess. 

He didn't pick up. Crawling out of bed, she opened her laptop, and saw CNN flooded with updates about Takshaka Sarpa's arrest, some articles diving deep into his law career and several donations to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

But not one of them mentioned his grandson.

She began chew her lip, feeling the sting of blood, before clenching her fists.

She squeezed her eyes shut before thinking: You'd better be okay, Rudy.

————

RUDY
Long story short, he was not okay.

Half of him was convinced he was a traitor, while the other half tried to convince him that what he had done was correct.

After one does an impulsive thing, dozens of what-ifs haunt their thoughts. For him, the same question bounced around his head: What if this could have ended differently?

He didn't know. He wasn't sure he wanted to find out, either. The police officers had asked him if he'd wanted to accompany his grandfather to the precinct, but given from the looks Takshaka had been giving him, he wasn't wanted.

He scooped up his phone, scrolling past the condolences from other family members, his eyes snagging on the thirteen missed calls from Mini.

She must have been worried.

He didn't know what to say, exactly. He could not say, "I got my grandfather arrested, so how was your Saturday?"

God. He felt an oncoming headache in his temples, and, pinching the bridge of his nose, he swallowed a painkiller, drowsiness rolling through him.

Sleep would help. It wouldn't give him the words to tell her, but it would help.

————

When he had woken up, a light drizzle had begun to fall, causing mist to appear on his windowpane.

His phone pinged with a text: Rudy, PLEASE if you get this, call me.